Obituary: Pat
Rogers
Patrick (Pat) Rogers, formerly of Bosanter, Chapel Amble, who died in March, was wellknown locally for the rather superior forecourt service he offered to customers of Old Forge Garage, St Minver. A motoring enthusiast who had owned his Triumph TR2 sports car since 1956, Pat probably enjoyed the opportunity offered by Forge Garage to fill his semi-retirement years in and around cars. Born in 1931, Patrick’s early years were spent in India but he returned to England during the war and in 1945, aged thirteen, he joined Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth as an Officer Cadet. It was during Korean War service in the aircraft carrier, HMS THESEUS, he decided his future lay in aviation. He commenced flying training in 1955, first as a fast-jet Fleet Air Arm pilot but later transferred to carrier-
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borne Gannet aircraft when it was discovered he had a tendency to black out when manoeuvring at high speed, a phenomena he modestly described as ‘somewhat inconvenient’. When the Gannets were withdrawn from service, Patrick retrained as a helicopter pilot. He served in various aircraft carriers as a commando ‘Junglie Pilot’ working with embarked Royal Marines in inhospitable environments such as the jungles of Borneo. He later became an AntiSubmarine specialist and as Commanding Officer of 819 Naval Air Squadron and was instrumental in laying the foundations for operating helicopters from Royal Navy destroyers and frigates. During his long flying career, he amassed several thousand flying hours and piloted 24 different types of helicopter
and fixed-wing aeroplanes. Unsurprisingly, some of his Royal Navy career was spent at RNAS Culdrose. In 1979, it was Patrick who planned, co-ordinated and oversaw the daring and extraordinary helicopter search and rescue operation that was mounted in response to the devastating storm that struck the Fastnet yacht race. It was this operation that was credited with saving the lives of so many yachtsmen. Patrick retired from the Royal Navy in 1982. He spent some time teaching at a prep school in Kent and later worked for Countess Mountbatten at the Order of St John before settling for pseudoretirement. He restored his TR2 to pristine condition and both he and the car were regularly sighted around the lanes of North Cornwall. A keen member of the Cornwall TR Group, he was escorted on his final road journey by a convoy of vintage TR cars.
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